Tubular wall construction



July 26, 1960 Filed sept. 14, 1954 w. c. NORRIS ETAL TUBULAR WALL CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 vJuly 26, 1960l W. C. NORRIS lm 2,946,116

TUBULAR WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 14, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToRs:

WILLIAM C. NORRIS WALDEMAR RUPINSKI KONRAD S. SVENDSEN ATTORNEY July 26, 1960 w. c. NRRls EI'AL 2,946,116

TUBULAR WALL CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 14, 1954 mm RIN Y SRD-E E R QUV .N T O moms n VMMD A mmm I LN LAOY WWKB TUBULAR WALL 'CONSTRUCTION v William C. Norris, Bellmore,-N.Y., AWaldemar Rupinski, Fort Lee, NJ., and Konrad S. Svendsen, Bellerose,

N.Y., assignors to Combustion Engineering, Inc., Newv York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 14, 1954, Ser. No. 455,912 7 claims. (ci. z9-`1s7.4)

This invention relates to improved rmeans andrmethodV of constructing tubular walls and particularly walls of tall furnaces which are faced with uid cooled tubes.

The furnace walls of large steam generators are com-L furnace walls and are connected to bottom and top-head1"V ers ordrums for parallel flow of fluid therethrough.

-I-Ieretofore such a tubular wall was completely erected in the field, ea'ch tube length of a-circuit being separately raised and held in place while adjoining tube length; ends Were aligned and welded together. The tubes were cut to length in 'the shop and 'when tubes were cut to im! proper length, as frequently occurred, correction of thev error in the field involved additional cutting, grinding and scarng. When using the above mentioned conventional rnethod of constructing tall tubular walls cornposed of relatively small diameter tubes arranged in substantial side by side contact, the cost involved for erecting such walls becamey so highas to-be uneconomical.'yVV It isv accordingly a primaryobject of the invention to provide a novel and improyedrnethod of constructing ai tubular wall of the typefmenti'oned above, including bending, and welding in unison" ofl tubes forming group 1 compdnents pf such ajvvall'g,wherebytliecosfof conj structingthese walls isi`substantiallyre'duced. `4

It is a furthenobject' of the invention to provide a novel arent vO thanV 100 f fcetf.

FCC

. 2 Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the wallsection of Fig. 2 and taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an isometric view of a group of tubes assem# bled to form a typical tube'panel and showing means for tying and protecting the tube panel during subsequent operations of bending, shipping, erecting and Welding.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating how fthe'tubes are shaped toa desired contour in a bending press While united in a tube panel.

Fig. 6 is Ya side elevation of two tube groups.' or panels arranged end to end andrwith their ends sprungfapart prior to welding by means of ourimproved apparatusf.A

- Fig. 7 is a cross section taken on line 7-.'77` of Fig. 6 showing the tubes separated in 'the positionready-'for Welding. g

Fig. 8 is a cross section similar to Fig. 7 but showing the position of theftubesr and that of the' improved apparatus before the tubes are sprung 'apart for-'welding or after they have returned Vto their'natu'ral position after Welding. 'Y i'" inFig; 1 there is diagrammatically illus'tra'ted'a Water cooled furnace 10 of a'large steam generating 'Such a furnace is generally of're'ct'ang'ul'ar crosssection and as pointed out above may reach'an overall height of more The furnace 10 AcomprisesV four vwallsf' n twoside walls.12.a,.a front wall 12b-anda rear wall12. ".These'walls are-'linedwithtubes14a, 14b and 142: re-V i spectively Theends ofv tubes 14gv are connected to lower and superior apparatus and rne'thc'ad forsupporting and"v aligning adjacent tube'ends while weldingA` them together thereby facilitating andincreasingthe quality of worlc-Y Inanship rto Aa c onsiderabl'e'extent.

- .'Anotherrnbject of the 'inyentionis .to provide Va 'superior' methodofbending thelwallitbesin unison, thereby con#Y tributing considerably towaireduction of theoverallcost of fabricating and erecting tall tubular wall-'furnaces so as to'Y make' theiruse economically7 attractive. l

Additionai objects andfayamages' rWn beeome lpyparent from the following ldescr'ipti'ony of'illustrativ'e'embodiments of the'inventionlwhen read in conjunction with theV accompanying drawings 'Whereir" Fig. l is a sectional elevation 'ofagtypical steamgen-: erator 'furnace yhaving fluidcooled tubular. Vfurnace'v walls.l f

Fig'.y 2 is anenlargedl frontelevation ofa typical sec- Y tion of the tubular furnace walls bf Fig. 1.

headers16 and upper .header 18. The ends of tubes14b andldcare connectedy to lowendrums 20 and vupper header 22. Upper headers 18 and 22 inlturn communicate i' with steam: and water drum 24 by way of tubesy 26y and` 27 respectively, and-lower headersvl are connected'to drums 2t) by tubes 28. There is providedj a -steam and water drum 24ywhich ,communicateszwithdrums 20 by way of pipes Si) thereby establishing anumber' of; water circulation circuits throughout the furnace `wallsf'12a,"12b and 12C.

Fuel and `air which is introducedinto.furnace 10 burners 32, burns within the-furnace, liberating heatr'and generating steam in tubes 14a, 1`4b, and14c. "Thersfteanr rises and is collected in drum 24r fronrwher'eit isfwithdrawn at 33jfor further heating and use,A The steam'u replaced by feed Water entering drum 24, atr3,4. 55

According to the invention', thetubular?watenrcoolcd l lining of eachwal'l of furnacel() is subdividedinto'nu-jmerous Wall sections Yor `tube `panels-.1: For example iside.V

wall12ais subdivided into three tiers ofypanels`36 In Fig'Zvthese panels are shownin y efnlargedvfscale and',` are typical of the construction proposed byourv invention".`

andl applicable to all four walls offurnace z10. f

Ehus thistypicalewall.*here ldesignated lzfc'omprises i top and bottom headers 13 and 16 respectively'firrteron nected by a bank of parallel tubes 14v having` substanti side by side contact, lying ina, common plane, and f ing the interiorof the wal1stru'cture12. The wall .str

ture'12 may/ include any well known refractory-insula-iV tion-casing constructiorr'on the exterior of tubes 1141*(iiot shown). Because of the distance between' headers '16 and. 18which exceeds that-'.offa tube length suitable forshipping, ytwo ormore tubelengths 14' are welded end to end' atV 3,8 to forma continuousconduit-between headrsfl and 18, andithis welding-isfdone inlth'e'iield. As men timed`v above, Jauch, a. tubular Wallin/as hretfore rii '1 pletely erected inthe eld, each tubefof each circuit be- 2,946,116 Patented July 26,

gether. This method is very slow and costly.

According to our invention similar groups of tubes 14 such as the groups 36a, 36b and 36e shown in Figs. 2 and 3 are separately assembled in the shop. Each group contains a multiplicity of tube lengths =14 in parallel as illustrated in Fig. 4. All lie in a common plane having a width and length suitable for handling in transport and erection in the eld. For example the width of such a grouptnray bejabout four-feet and the length about forty feet. All tube lengths Mofa-group are'usually of the sarne length and` their -end surfaces 40 and` 42'are in alignment generally at right angles to their axes. Such end alignment of the tubes 14-in a group is provided in the shoprby fastening them together adjacent their mid lengths,as byY welding asrshownA at 44 (Fig. 1). Stiffening rnembersforgstrongbacksl46 (see `Fig. 4) are additionally provided on opposite sides of theV tubes of a group-.together 'withmeans to' support the strongbacks s nngly' against -the tubes, suchras by` banding irons 4S (Fig`. 4). The ends of tubes 14 of a group areprotected against injury,or disalignment with the ends of the rcmaining tubes; by means-such as the channels 5()` (Fig. 4) which extend over the tube ends for the full width of-the-tubepanel.-y

`Turninglfnowto Fig: 3 the ends 42a and 40a of alternate `tubes-.14 of groups 36a, 36e adjacent the headers 18A and-.x16`,4 respectively/are foset with respect to the remaining tube ends. Preferably the headers contain welded innipples 52 which'register alignment with the endsoftheftubes14and `are welded thereto in the field. This' is indicated at 38a in;Figs.;2 and 3.

The 'above'described method and means for assembliugtrtubes into-groups ofV tubes or tube panels 36a,- 36b, 36crand'as1shownin Fig. 4 is typical for all'groups and the alignment of each group is so maintained duringsubsequent'bending operations, duringtransport from the shopzto theeldfand during'weldingin the field.

As can=-benoted fromFig. 1 the-furnace walls 12b andlZc: containvtube groups which4 have twok or more bent portions such asat'54. These tubes heretofore had been bentseparately inthe'shop. Y Our improved method offconstructingftubulaf water wall furnaces of large dimensions1includesfmultipleor gang bending, i.e., the bending: ofthese tubes inunison while assembled-in tube panels suchas that shownl in Fig. 4.

The method of bending a tube panel to conform to the contouroffalparticularfurnacefwall such asfor examplellZbaorilZc; of'rwhich-it istoV become `a part, is pictorially.shownin FigiSl Yfl'fanel 36-'is hoisted and supported -4by histSS-while the portion of the'panel whiclilis to` be-be'n'tis' operatively engaged-with the bendingrollersI V60-of"-bending press 62i YVllltile'ths operation isV performed the entire tube panel: comprising perhaps 35ffin'dividual; tubes Yis handled andbent'asin one piece, `instead of handling and bend; ing-'.135 fseparate tube-lengths, whichV had been thel practice heretofore. t -f Afterthe multiple ybendingoperation the panel isl ready forshipment'totheeection site along with other panels which do not require-bending: l

In the field, neighboring vgroups of tubesor panels'are preparedfforthe hoisting of these panels tothe desired position inthe respective' furnace wall. These preparations include the attaching in the proper location on the tubei panel of our herein` disclosed raising-supporting-` aligning jig, the function and design of which will now:

sition as component parts ofafumace wall, are arranged with their ends 40" and 42;"adjoinin'g and'their axis in alignmentl thereby bringing all thetubes of both groups Yas into a common plane for forming continuous conduits from"the'bottorn vheader 16^to the top head'er18;

Because the tubes are in substantial longitudinal contact, the adjoining ends (see Fig. 6) of alternate aligned tubes of the groups 36a and 3611 respectively must be offset from the remaining tubes, or sprung apart to provide access to the ends for welding them together. Preferably the alternate tube ends 4Gb, 42b are offset to one side of the common plane of the wall and the remaining tube ends 40, 42 are offset Ato the other side of said plane.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8, one form of means is disclosed to accomplish the offsettingofthe "tube ends according to this invention before they are hoisted to the assigned position in the furnace wall'. There are' shown; two jigs 64 and 66, jig64' being mounted on^tube` group: 36a and jig 66 being'mountedon' tube` group36b adjacent the tube ends. Eachfjig'l comprises two channelbeams 68 placed on opposite sides ofthe `tubes =14 and-opposite each other. Referring now to Fig 8 eachlchannel beam 68 has lugs 70 fastenedthereto which preferably are spaced longitu'dinally-` of therchannel on centers equal to about twice the spacing of the centers of tubes 14 and which extend outwardly from the channel toward the tubes for a distance aboutequal to the diameter of the tubes and terminate' in"v at faces 72 which-bear againstl the tube surface. 'Ihe lugs-'70 on one `channel beamV 68 are staggeredwithrespecttto the lugs 70 on theY opposite channel and when the channels are=moved toward each other, the lugs force alternate tubes against planes parallel to the` commonlplane of the u tube wall,

as shown in Figs. 6`and7.

The two jigs 64 andwbeingof the'same size and acting in the same'mannerwill offset the ends of the` tubes Vof groups 36a` and 36bby the` same amount.

Holding lugs '74' (see Fig. 6) are weldedontoselected" tubes 14 to provide stops for jigs 64 and 66. Each jig is provided with bolts '80 andSZ for forcing the channel beams 68' together.` Each bolt forms an angle of about 45 with the longitudinal axis of the channels and is provided with nuts at each end' which bear against angles 83 secured" to the inside of channel 68 by welding. However the angle of bolt is opposite to that of bolt 82 so` thatwhen thebolt's are uniformly pulled up any relativelilongitudinal movement of the channels may beV avoided. The angular position of the bolts permits; the bolts topass between the tubeswhen these are offset. Although` only one pair'of bolts 80 `and 82 are shown in Figs. 7 and8 several pairs of these bolts are employed on panels'of greatcr'width and accommo-` alsoV provided with' pipe sections 76"through which' bolts 78fare-passed fr`nr`jig 6`4`t jig 66to align andspace"` themA after thertube pane'l's.I 3641i and 36b-have" been raised to their respectivlpositions as components of 'l the: furnaceAV wall; Having: thus aligned the-` corresponding'tube ends 401a`ndl 4240biai1d42b the tubes'- are then welded-together at 38;' two menf working .on .each vtube on" opposite sides. z

After therwelding-of allf-tubes-is completed jigs 64:

and 66 are removed and tubes 14;` allowed to spring back and tovassumeltheir originalpostion in the plane of the,` wall. Lugs 74 of :course are also removedV as well as strong backs '46 Under certainconditions it may be found desirable to rnve'thefstr'ong backs before the tub'e panels' arei'raised' in"we`lding'positon"and rely entielyf'nn-"wela 44j"` tubes ofthe panel aligned 'and' uhitedf' .1 n zu. er.

, kul.

Our invention accordingly as hereinabove set forth, provides for a simple and advantageous method of constructing the walls of tallfurnace chambers lined with closely spaced parallel tubes'. `The invention thus permits the realization of outstanding savings in man hoursl both in the production stagethr'ough t-he use of mull tiple or gang bending of tubes and in the erection stage through the additional use of our lnovel raising-supporting-aligningjigs." t v While we have here shown a novel and `superior method of constructing tubular walls and described an illustrative embodiment for practicing our method.y it will be understood that changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts as well as certain changes in the sequence of the method steps may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

We claim:

l. A method of constructiing a fluid cooled tubular wall by aligning upright tube panels end to end, each panel being composed of a row of parallel upright tubes, comprising the steps of forming at least two tube panels each by aligning a plurality of tube lengths in side by side parallel relationship; securing each tube of each panel to an adjacent tube thereof at a point of said tube remote from the free ends thereof; springing said free ends of alternate tubes of said one panel and corresponding free ends of alternate tubes of said other panel out of position in a direction lateral to saidpanel while keeping respective tube ends in alignment; raising said panels into the desired wall position so that the tube ends of one panel abut and are aligned with the tube ends of an adjacent panel; welding the tube ends of one panel to the corresponding tube ends of the adjacent panel while thus aligned; and releasing said tube ends to allow said alternate tubes to spring'back and resume their original positions.

2. A method of constructing afluid cooled tubular wall by aligning tube panels tube end to tube end, each panel being composed of a row of parallel tubes, comprising the steps of forming at least two tube panels, each by aligning a plurality of tube lengths in side by side parallel relationship; securing each tube of each panel to an adjacent tube thereof including at a point of said tube remote from the ends thereof; subjecting at least one selected panel to exterior forces whereby to cause the simultaneous bending of the tubes of said panels to a predetermined contour characteristic of said wall; freeing and subsequently springing the ends of adjacent tubes of said one panel and correspondlng ends of adjacent tubes of said other panel outl of position an equal distance in a direction lateral to said panel while keeping respective ltube ends in alignment; raising sald panels into the desired Wall position sov that the tube ends of one panel abut and are aligned with the tube ends of an adjacent panel; welding the tube ends of one panel to the corresponding abutting tube ends of the adjacent panel while thus aligned; and releaslng said tube ends to allow said alternate tubes to resume their original positions.

3. A method of constructing a fluid cooled tubular wall by aligning tube panels end to end, each panel'bemg composed of a ro-W of parallel tubes, comprislng the with an adjacent tube thereof including at a point of said tube remote from the ends thereof; subjecting at least one selected panel to exterior forces whereby to cause the l,

simultaneous bending of the tubes of said panel to a pre- .6 of the corresponding tubes of `they other panel out ofposi: tion in the same lateraldirections the same distancejkeepi ing respective tube ends inlalignmentjwelding the tube ends of one panel `to the abutting tube ends of the adjacent panelwhile thus aligned-g and releasing said tube ends to allow the tubes to resumeA their original positions.

A4'. A 'method of constructing a iluid cooled tubular' Wall of uneven contour by aligning elongatedtube panels f end to end, said panel being composed of a row of parallel tubes which are bentto conform to said contour of saidwall, comprising the steps. of forming at least two tube;` panels that are component parts 'of saidk wall by aligningl a plurality of tube lengths in side by side parallel relationship; securing each tube of each panel in alignment with an adjacent tube at a point remote from the ends of said tubes, with said ends remaining free; subjecting at least one selected panel to exterior forces whereby to cause the simultaneous bending of the tubes of `said panel to said predetermined contour characteristic of said wall,{raising said panels into the desired wall position so that the said free tubeends of one panel abutand are aligned with the tube -ends of an adjacent panel;`spreading apart the same distance selected ones of said free tube ends to form end to end aligned pairs between abutting panels; and welding said tube ends of one panel to the corresponding tube ends of the adjacent panel while thus spread Vapart and aligned.

5. In a method of constructing a tubular wall by stacking tube panels tube end to tube end, each panel being composed of a multiplicity of rside by side algnedtubes lying in a common plane the tubes of one panel and the tubes of the abutting panel being connected end to end, the steps'which comprise shop assembling similar groups of said tubes, eachV group comprising single Vlength tubes aligned side by side in a plane and fastened together at least at two points along their lengths, maintaining said alignment during transport to the iield, assembling said groups to formsaid'tubular wall with said tubes in said common plane in end to end alignment, releasing and freeing a sunicient portion of each tube and to permit the spreading apart of said ends, offsetting by springing 'apart ,the same distance the ends ofadjacent tubes out of said common plane into aplane parallel thereto, 'joining said aligned ends of said tubes by welding while being so off- `of vertically aligned4 tube panels formed of a multiplicity ofside by side aligned tubes lying in a common plane, said panels being connected end to end, the stepsj which said alignment during transport 'to the field, freeing saidl ends and offsetting by springing apart said free ends of (i. alternate tubes to one side of and the Vends of thevremainv ing aligned tubes tothe other side of saidcommon plane into planes parallel thereto,` assembling said groupsit'o i form 'said tubular wall with said tubes in said common planeA inend `to end'alignment, joining said adjacent ends alignment into said common plane.' v A 7.V Ina method of constructing atubular wall compris? ing aligned tube panels formed of a multiplicity of` relaby Welding while so offset andrthereafter releasing'said.` tubes to spring outV of"k saiddeflected offset' Vbackvinto .tively small diameter tubes lying'in a common 4plane determined contour characteristic of said wall; raising said Y panels into the desired wall position so that the tube ends of one panel abut and are aligned with V the tube ends of an adjacent panel; freeing and subsequently springing the ends of adjacent tub of the one panel and the ends steps which comprise shop assemblinggsimilar `groups of said tubes, each group comprising single length Vtubes ylying side by side in a plane with the tubes in substantial contact and welded together adjacent their mid lengths with their end surfaces in alignment at right angles to their axes, maintaining saidalignment during transport to the 

